"Treating different customers differently is the key distinction between competition today using technology, and competition 15 years ago before this technology was available. CRM tools make it possible to treat different customers differently," says Peppers, a well-known management consultant.
Increasing loyalty and customer retention requires a thorough understanding of the various ways in which customers are different from each other and then using that knowledge to tailor your products and services to fulfill the needs of your customers. To do so, the company must know the details of who their customers are and what they like or dislike individually, not just as a group or market segment. Customer loyalty and competitive advantage will come by anticipating and exploiting the differences and not similarities among customers, and being able to cater to these differences. Customizing offerings based on customer information, ordering patterns and ordering requirements will lead to long-term relationships on a one-to-one basis.
Technology is assisting in more and more personalized communication and more and more customized products. Technology is increasingly allowing companies to have discrete communication with its customers which is in turn motivating them to have as discrete a production as possible. ApparelretailerLand’s End is today selling garments according to the specification of the buyer. Levi's is tailoring jeans to the customer's exact size and fit and shipping it in 24 hours to the customer in some of its U.S. stores. Hallmark has developed a system that allows the customer to select the message for the greeting card that she purchases. Now even cars can be produced according to the specific specification of the customer, thanks to flexible manufacturing systems. Basically flexible manufacturing is enabling companies to increase their variety and design to meet the specific individual needs of the customer without much additional cost.
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